


Big Hero 6: Next Generation

by ATW



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Multi, Post-Big Hero 6 (2014), San Fransokyo Institute of Technology (Big Hero 6)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-05-31 01:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19415779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATW/pseuds/ATW
Summary: 20 years have passed since the original Big Hero 6's last battle, and a lot have happened. Hiro and Karmi got married and they had a daughter named Grace, and now it's her turn to go study at the nerd school. Lots will happen to her, which includes facing bullies in a national competition and supervillains.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twenty years after the series' events, it's time for Hiro's daughter to go to the nerd school.

Although the number of supervillains drastically decreased after Big Hero 6’s final battle, a lot of things happened nonetheless. Hiro and Karmi finally warmed up to each other, and in a few months time, they started going out with each other. The only downside is that he would get teased by his friends about it. 

Other than that, the gang attended Obake’s wedding. Fred was cheering for the newly engaged couple (with his armour on) so loudly that Momakase lost her temper and threw her knives at him.

And all was fairly normal for 20 years.

* * *

On a peaceful day in September, Hiro stood before the gates of SFIT again with his friends and their children, but also with his wife Karmi and a kid who bears a striking resemblance of Hiro at the age of 14, only with darker skin and longer hair. 

While Hiro’s friends said their goodbyes to their children, Hiro didn’t. He noticed the kid was tugging his pants while herself was crouching on the same spot.

“Dad?” she asked, nervously. “What if I ended up becoming a bad scientist?”

Hiro looked at the girl thoughtfully, before letting out a long sigh and squatted down himself, facing her.

“Grace Aken Hamada.” he said, “Me and your mother had agreed to name you after two inspirational scientists, one of them is remembered as a villain, but he is the most well-meaning person I’ve ever known.”

“So if I do become ‘bad’ like him...”

“Then the dark forces residing in this city have gained themselves a talented young one. But if this means a lot to you, you can always ask your friends, me and your Mom, and your professors for guidance. We will all be here for you, just like how Professor Granville will be watching over our family from the skies.”

After hearing that, a smile appeared on Grace’s face. “Really?”

“Really.”

Grace stood up along with her father, and hugged him tightly.

“Last hug,” she said.

“Good girl… Professor Granville and Tadashi would be so proud of you.”

Grace freed herself from Hiro, took her lunch from Karmi, and ran off to school happily with the other young people.

“Look at our little girl, Hiro...” said Karmi, wiping a tear from her left eye. “It’s like yesterday when she was born.”

“And these fourteen years are all worth it.” Hiro said as he placed an arm affectionately on his wife’s shoulder. but then he said no more. Instead, he glanced at the long-haired genderbent version of his 14 year-old self, who was fist-bumping a 20 year-old young woman with blue-streaked hair, affectionately.

_ Good luck, Grace.  _ He thought.  _ I will be happy for you whether you end up being a hero or villain. Because as long as you are happy with what have you become, how bad can that be? _


	2. Lab Cubicles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace had a tough first day at school, but there are two sides to everything: she made a new friend.

“So this is what a freshman’s workspace looks like?” Grace groaned, she had looked at them before, but when she finally got to have one, she couldn’t help but to mourn her fate.

The cubicle was very tidy, with not a speck of dust on the work surfaces and the floor. However, what peeved miss Hamada was that it was miserably small. It looked like it could hardly fit Baymax in should he walk into the space, and the tall walls is making the place seem smaller than it already was by providing a contrast between the height and area of the floor.

Try drawing out Grace’s cubicle out on a piece of paper and you will know how she felt.

Yes, it was a very tall but narrow and overall uncomfortable cubicle. And now she was landed with it.

“Don’t worry, mate.” A voice called from the space not far away, “You’ll get used to it.”

“Yeah, right. Your lab is like twice the size of mine.”

The voice sighed, and said, “Just… get out of your lab and come here.”

Grace left her lab and traveled to the space right next to her. She stood in front of the space, facing the owner of the voice that spoke with an English accent. The person was a tall, fox-faced woman that had slightly tanned skin and long black hair which was tied back in a bun. She dressed in a modest manner, with a long-sleeved dark blue T-shirt and and a dress that was coloured with a lighter shade of blue. She wore dark blue tights as well as black boots.

“Yes, my lab is bigger than yours, but just look at how many stuff I have here.” the woman then gestured at her space, which, just like what she said, was actually quite small with all the furniture.

“I have been working in this lab for a whole year ever since I came here. And just like you, I didn’t like it here at first, because itself doesn’t have any space for work. Not even a desk.”

“You don’t mean...”

“Yes. The tables and chairs are all me. ” she replied. “And when I finished furnishing this lab I realized it doesn’t actually have much room for me to move around. But like I’ve said, it’s been a year, and during the time I got used to this lab. So what I’m trying to say is this. The school has thought thoroughly about you when assigning you a space to work in, so there has to be a reason why you ended up with that. Try your best to get used to your working space, little lass. I’m confident you will find a way to make yourself feel at home in your own lab. Or at least something happens and you’ll feel that way.”

Grace then smiled, and nodded. “Thanks, Lenore.”

“That’s what sisters are for.” the woman who was known as Lenore nodded in return. “Just like looking at a new lab that you don’t like, there will be more unpleasant stuff like this in university life. If you have any trouble, you just need to tell me.”

“I will-”

Their bonding moment was disrupted by the sound of other students leaving. 

“Must be the first class for the day,” Lenore grunted, “What’s yours, Grace?”

“It says further mathematics on my timetable. Freshmen and sophomores in the same seminar.”

“Cool! It’s my first class as well.” Lenore cajoled, a smile appearing on her face. “You want to go to the class together? This sophomore can show you around the campus on the way!”

“Delighted!”

The two girls then skipped out of the lab, and laughed all the way to their class. During the journey, Grace and Lenore talked about how would the maths professor be like. Grace said she hoped the professor would be nice, just like her maths teacher in elementary school, while Lenore said she would hope for the professor to be understanding and fair...

* * *

… turns out the professor was none of those.

“There will be no foolish experimenting in my class.” said the forty-something man standing in front of the blackboard. He was tall and scrawny, with fair skin and a large, pointed nose. Not to mention he had a mop of blonde hair on top of his long, bony head. When he spoke, spitballs flew in all directions from his mouth and everyone got a brilliant view of his horse-like teeth.

“My name is Professor Leiden, and I will be your new Mathematics Professor. With me, you can learn about the magic and wonders from the depths of Maths. Maths will aid you in programming, constructing and solving complex problems. I have high expectations of you and I believe you can achieve well… if you are not the bunch of nitwits I will be stuck with for at least one semester.”

Then he started to take the register.

“Lenore Aoki-Aken?”

“Present.”

“Lobo Kim-Rodriguez?”

“Here, eating an invisible sandwich!” said a voice. Grace leaned forward to look at who’s speaking, and she was way too flabbergasted to speak when she saw who it was. The voice that just said the bunch of nonsense belonged to a lanky boy who looked like he was 18. He had tan skin, dark brown hair, brown eyes, but other than that he looked like a carbon copy of her father’s friend Fred if you just look at his clothing. He wore a oversized red tee with a long-sleeved white tee under, beige trousers, and an aquamarine beanie with three eyes and a broad smile with two fangs sticking out. The boy was pretending to eat a sandwich, completely unaware that the professor was walking towards him calmly and quietly.

And she had a pretty good idea of what the terrifying Mr. Leiden would say.

**_Oh, no..._ **

“Mister Rodriguez… I would be very happy if you know how to talk in front of me, which is that a freak like you should shut your mouth instead of talking about those antics of yours.” he sneered, closing his face towards him with his mean little eyes narrowed. “If you make any noise in this class… any at all… you will have to clean all of the toilets in the entire campus without any breaks in between.”

Then he left, leaving the boy to quiver in fear.

Grace looked at him with sympathy, but turned to look at her professor, who was towering over her. “And Grace Hamada, our new celebrity.”

The young Hamada scowled as Leiden walked back to in front of the blackboard, then he asked her suddenly, 

“Can you tell me what is integration and how to carry that out?”

_ What is what and how to carry out what?  _ Grace thought, then she stuttered,

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Tut, tut… clearly your good-for-nothing father’s legacy isn’t everything you need. And now can you express the exact value of infinity with no more than ten numbers?”

“Bloody hell… who in the world can do impossible things like that?” Lenore mouthed at Grace, who was biting her lip uncomfortably. The latter then admitted that she didn’t know.

“For your information, Miss Hamada, if differentiation is like splitting something into many tiny pieces, then integration is like putting them together again. To solve integration you will need a function  **_f_ ** and an interval of the real line. As for expressing infinity even a toddler would know that he should write a symbol that looks like an 8… WHY AREN’T YOU WRITING THAT DOWN?!”

The classroom was filled with the sound of students typing and writing on paper. Grace was writing down something, but she was actually writing the hateful lines that Professor Leiden had just delivered to her so she can complain to her parents. She briefly stopped writing, and whispered,

“Pssst, Lenore! Lenore!”

“Yes?”

“Just what is wrong with him?”

“Not a clue.” Lenore whispered back, “but he does need someone to teach him a lesson sometime.”

* * *

After the boring and humiliating first Mathematics lesson, Grace got lost, and it took her a long while to find her engineering class. When she arrived almost all the seats were full. Most of the empty seats weren’t available, as other students all told her that the seat was taken or that she can’t sit there.

“You can sit here if you want to,” said a familiar voice.

Grace looked towards the direction of the voice to find the same boy that got chastised by Leiden gesturing to the seat right next to him. She nodded and sat down.

He smiled broadly and waved at her. “Hola!”

“Hola...” Grace waved back, with a confused expression on her face. “How come you can still be this cheery after being threatened by that jerk?”

“Bah, everyone says I’m stupid and call me a freak, even one of my Mam á s say I’m a nitwit. So I’m quite used to it. But I do have to admit that Dr. Leiden was scary!” The boy huffed as if nothing happened, but his voice trembled when he talked about the Maths professor. 

“I’m sorry about that.” 

“It’s alright.” the boy chuckled. Then he extended a hand towards Grace. “My name is Lobo, and people call me Lobobo or simply Bobo.”

Grace held his hand. “Nice to meet you, Bobo. My name is Grace and people call me Grace.”

**_Cue a few hours have passed_ **

After that, Grace never saw Bobo again in the campus for the rest of the school day. And she had more lessons that she didn't particularly enjoyed so her first day was far from pretty. The girl was frustrated, tired, and hungry.

And when she went back to her cubicle, something weird happened. She could have sworn she hated her new lab more than anything because it was so small and dim, but suddenly it felt warm and cozy upon her return. She sat down on the chair in the lab, and sighed in relief. The chair was hard and moved too much when she first sat on it, but now she just loved how the chair skidded across the floor gently, transporting her to a nearby bench in her small space where she could actually rest her head on.

"Now this is what I'm talking about…"

"BOO!"

Grace was snapped back into the real world and quickly turned her attention to a sniggering Lenore.

"Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" She screamed.

"You're trying to sleep, eh?" Lenore smirked, but Grace could tell she was actually feeling very happy. "Looks like you do like your lab after all. Good on you, kid. When you're knackered like that anywhere you can rest at works fine."

Then, another voice rang.

"I like my cubicle too!"

The voice… was masculine. It sounded a little annoying, but also friendly. It was from…

"Bobo?"

The familiar face of Lobo Rodriguez then popped out from the walls, and smiled broadly.

"Hola Amiga!" he said, "My lab is right there. Now we can talk about comic books all day long! Say, have you ever read the new comic book centering Dandy Boy?"

"Um… who is he again?"

"How can you not know he's Captain Fancy's sidekick!" Bobo looked horrified, but then he jabbed Grace's shoulder playfully, and said, "don't worry, I'll tell you all about him sometime."

Grace laughed, and so did Bobo. Lenore went over and talked to him. She found him very annoying, but his kindness outweighed it. 

Grace's duo was up to three. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI Bobo is the adopted son of Honey Lemon and Gogo.


	3. Chapter 2: FITCapella and SFAscension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grace decided to join an activity under Baymax's persuasion, and ended up joining the school's acapella group. The game is starting...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: racist bullying behaviour mentioned

“Grace, you are agitated.”

Baymax said, looking at his ‘niece’ thoughtfully. “My scan indicates that you are bored, and lonely, and-”

"Thank you, Uncle Max." Grace grunted. "I have Lenore and Bobo. And you, of course."

"You stayed in your lab for the entire night." Baymax added, as the screen on his stomach lighted up again. "I would advise you to attend some extracurricular activities. Extracurricular activities will increase your dopamine levels, which will make you feel content."

"I dont have time for those." 

Baymax said nothing as Grace rose from her seat and looked at him in the eyes. "Baymax, What did I come to SFIT for? Something that is not science-related? I told you, I have…"

"Lenore and Bobo." Baymax finished off his niece's sentence. "However, attending extracurricular activities can expand your social network of support."

Grace said nothing. She thought for a while and looked up.

"Fine. Let's go."

* * *

Grace and Baymax walked out to the Quad, where colourful stands were set up everywhere.

"Grace, would you like to join the literature club?"

The girl looked at her robotic uncle with a blank expression.

"Without you speaking, I cannot determine whether you want to join or not."

"No. See what they wrote on their stand?" 

Baymax blinked. "It says fan fiction is welcome."

"I don't even write. And don't even ask me about fan fiction."

"Your mother Karmi wrote fan fiction twenty years ago, when she first met Hiro."

"What about Mom, Baymax? I'm not her. And that means I don't write. At all."

"Oh. Okay."

Baymax then waddled behind his niece as she looked at different stands and dismissed them.

"Poetry… Nah."

“There is a drama club over there.”

“Not a big fan.”

"What about soccer?"

"SFIT Samurais?" Grace said. "Looks fun… Reminds me of dad telling me about him playing soccer with mom in the woods. Mom even jumped across the trees after the ball."

"That is physically impossible for a human."

"You clearly forgot she was turned into a green, hairless werewolf with tentacles for hair. The chip already did some things to her so guess the monster agility remains, huh."

A look of sorrow crept onto Grace's face. Even though it was 6 years from her birth when Karmi was mutated, the whole Di Amara thing was still a punch in the gut. If she could find that woman, she would rip her into shreds-

"Hey! Would you like to join us?"

The voice snapped Grace back into reality. She looked at where the voice was from. She saw a girl that is a lot taller than her, with red hair and freckles.

Standing beside the red-haired girl was an African-American girl with short, wavy black hair. She saw Grace, and waved at the latter with a broad smile on her face.

“Hi...” Grace waved back, her face turning red.

“Grace, your heart rate is elevated. Are you okay?”

“I’m not… I feel great. I think I found my club.” Grace walked towards the girl, and said, “Hello. What club is this?”

The girl with red hair looked at the stand’s sign, and said, “We’re members of the S-FITCapella.”

“The what...?”

“It stands for SFIT A Capella, duh!” the red-haired girl responded with a look of contempt.

“Sorry...”

“Hey, it’s ok. I’m just messing with ya.”

“You don’t say, it scared me!” Grace whimpered, while the girl patted her shoulder.

“I should be sorry… I shouldn’t greet someone I just met like what I just did. Oh and before I say anything more, I’m Ginger Beca. Nice to meet you!”

Grace’s jaw dropped.

“You call yourself Ginger Beca?”

“She does that so mean bitches like You-Know-Who don’t do it behind her back,” said the girl with dark skin. She then walked over to Grace, and whispered in her ear, “D-I-A-N-E.”

“Ah… I know. She would definitely make fun of Beca.” Grace replied.

Beca winced a little, but she then quickly put on her cheery demeanor again. “So! About FITCapella...”

“Sorry to interrupt, Beca. I don’t know what acapella is. I don’t even know it’s a thing.”

“Um, as a group of students that sing acapella, we sing songs without any instruments, it’s strictly vocal.” the African American girl responded, “There are several acapella groups in different colleges here in San Fransokyo, the Wicked Pitches of the Torii Gate Literature University, Siren UM of the San Fransokyo University of Medicine, and the resident acapella group of San Fransokyo Art Institute: SFAscension.”

“And we hate their guts!” Beca snarled.

“Is this caused by the Rivalry Week thing?” Grace asked,

"Which is caused by our clash of ideals." the African American girl replied, “Objective versus subjective, rational versus emotional. Plus, they don’t have anything better to do besides worshipping a sea slug. You should have seen SFAscension’s uniform. They have that thing on their jackets...”

“Amelia, it’s actually a sea snail.”

“Whatever, dude. That Sabatini is just stupid.” Amelia huffed, “Our goal this year is to defeat SFAscension in the ICCAs. Help us make this dream a reality?”

“Hmmm...” Grace thought for a long while, and was snapped back into reality by Baymax.

“Grace. Your mother founded FITCapella 20 years ago. She made a bet with singers that mocked her for not having a social network for support.”

“That’s crazy, Baymax.”

“I don’t understand the meaning of ‘crazy’.” Baymax replied. “Also, this story is true.”

“You only know because mom told you.”

Baymax stayed silent for a while, and said, “I accompanied Hiro when he decided to join Karmi’s a capella group, although I wasn’t a member because the sounds I make are not from a human mouth.”

For some reason, Grace felt a chill down her spine. Despite his voice not having any emotion, she could tell Baymax haven’t been more serious in his life.

“Ok… I’m sorry for accusing you for lying and that it offends you, Baymax.” Grace stammered.

“I am not offended,” Baymax patted his niece’s head, and said, “but what you did is not beneficial for your interactions with people. Keep that in mind.”

Grace smiled a little and fist-bumped her robotic uncle. “Thanks Uncle. I will.” she then turned back to the girls, who were staring at her with excitement.

“Are you joining us? Please tell me you are!” Beca squeaked. A few tears ran down her eyes. She quickly wiped them off, but the tears wouldn’t stop, and then she was sobbing quietly.

“Sorry, Grace. We haven’t had any members lately so Beca’s very desperate.” 

Again, Grace thought deeply. When she finally spoke again she said,

“Okay. Maybe it’s good to try out what mom did.”

“Great!” Beca passed Grace a leaflet, and said, “See you at auditions, Grace.”

* * *

A few days later the choices had been made by the leaders of the acapella group.

“Basses: Thomas, Rick, Martin.” 

“Tenors: Lobo, Ashar, Blake.”

“Altos: Ella, Lenore, Grace.”

"Mezzos: Julie, Constance, Zahra."

“Sopranos: Teresa, Kori, Martha.”

As the new members were mentioned, the cloth on their heads were removed by two girls dressed up like nuns. Grace looked nervously around her, and her jaw dropped when she saw Lenore standing next to her, and then at Bobo.

“Hi, Grace!” the Hispanic boy squealed.

“Shhh!” one of the nuns hissed.

Lenore nudged Grace playfully, and whispered, “Chuffed to follow your mum’s legacy, are you.”

“Ummm I’m not really-”

“Now, we shall begin by drinking the blood of the musical scientists that came before us.”

One of the nuns held up the gigantic wine glass, and walked towards Grace.

“Dude, no!” Grace whispered, when she knew the nun with the wine glass was Beca.

“Don’t worry, it’s just tomato juice.” Beca assured her, and handed the glass to Grace.

Later, the new members donned their team jackets, and then they recited an oath that goes: “I, (the individual’s name being sung out loud), promise to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of a musical scientist.. and I solemnly promise to never have sexual relationships with a SFAscender, or may my vocal cords be ripped out by wolves.”

Grace winced a little.  _ This is kinda stupid,  _ she thought.  _ I don't know anyone from SFAI." _

After everyone recited the oath, Beca turned on the lights. "You are all musical scientists now."

Every new member cheered when they knew they were accepted. Beca looked at her new teammates with content as Amelia patted her back.

“You did it, Becky!”

“You’re right,” Beca nodded and whispered, “I believe in these guys.”

After taking a deep breath, Beca clapped her hands twice. “Attention, people! As our first activity, you sing a pitch ranging from C to the C of the higher octave, and I’ll divide you into groups by what pitch you sung. For example, if Kori, Teresa and Thomas sang pitch D, then the three of them will be in a group together. Now, one, two, three...”

Fifteen voices rang out loud. But due to some notes don’t sound good together, Beca couldn’t help but to cover her ears. 

“Okay… we could work on that harmonizing later.” Beca whimpered, but she quickly regained her demeanor. “The notes I hear are C, E, G. Group yourselves please.”

Grace walked away, and joined a girl with a hijab, a guy with blonde hair, and a girl with a black t-shirt and baggy pink pants.

“Name’s Blake,” the guy smiled and introduced himself happily.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Zahra.” the girl shook hands with Blake, and she smiled too.

“I’m Grace. Grace Hamada.”

Upon hearing the surname Hamada, Blake and Zahra widened their mouths in surprise.

“Are you really? You’re Hiro Hamada’s daughter right?”

“Let’s not forget her mum, Blake.” Zahra said, while looking at Blake with a little contempt and shaking her head. “Lab Lady came to help him when he’s almost arrested by the chief of police back then.”

“Yes, I forgot your mom. Sorry.”

“I won’t blame you… For some reason being exposed as a superhero made my dad a celebrity. My mom did make a serum to cure Orso Knox 20 years ago, but she didn’t take all of the credit.” Grace then took out a black rubber band from her pocket, tied her hair back into a long ponytail, and said, “ ‘ _ The breakthrough was a team effort, based almost completely on my work!’ _ That’s what she said.”

“Cool.” Zahra commented, giving the girl a big thumbs up.

“Anyway, I talked too much about me. Your turn, Zahra.”

“Okay. So I’m from Edinburgh, engineering major.” Zahra said, “My brother Ashar does further mathematics, he’s over there with the people who sung E.”

“Not surprising you are British, Zahra. A lot of Muslims in the western countries live in the UK.” Blake said.

“Scottish, to be more specific.”

As Blake and Zahra went on, the girl in black tapped Grace on the shoulder. 

“Hi… I didn’t bother you, did I?”

“Not at all!”

The girl pushed her hair away from her face, and said, “I’m Constance. Constance Wong.”

“Grace.”

Constance sniffed, and wiped a few tears away from her eye. “Can’t you see I’m fat?”

“So what?” Grace replied playfully, “That’s not gonna make me think any less of you. We only knew each other for a few seconds and you don’t seem like a jerk to me.”

“I really appreciate it,” Constance sighed in relief. “A lot of people I know pointed out I’m overweight right at the moment they first saw me… and you didn’t do that.”

“Good I did the right thing. Now… will you tell me something about yourself?”

Constance then went on talking. She told Grace that she is a forensics major, and used to study in a college in Ontario before she was transferred to SFIT.

“How’s life in Canada? I bet it’s more than maple syrup.”

“Oh, it’s definitely more than that.” Constance said, “Honestly, the only downside I can think of is how it’s always winter up there. People always say us Canadians are super nice and polite, and it’s pretty true. I mean… I am nice, but sometimes I don’t really want to be polite, you know. Especially with people making fun of me because of my body.”

“I feel you.” Grace nodded, “It’s very hard to not let jerks get under your skin.”

After another while of talking, Beca asked the new singers to sing again, and divided them into new groups. Before Constance moved to join another group, she whispered to Grace, saying,

“I’m lucky that I met you Grace… I think we’re going to be really fast friends. Bye!”

“Bye.”

* * *

The next day, Grace, Lenore, Bobo, Baymax, as well as Amelia and Beca decided to go to Noodle Burger together for dinner after a long day with three lectures by Professor Leiden (he was bullying Bobo as usual). On their way, Bobo was singing to loosen up.

_ I can show you the world _ _   
_ _ Shining, shimmering, splendid… _

Grace looked at Bobo, whom stopped and looked back at her with an awkward grin.

“No, go on.”

Bobo nodded and continued singing,

_ Tell me, Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide? _

As Bobo sang again, he realized Grace was harmonizing with him. He then kept on going and when he started singing the chorus, the whole group were singing together. 

_ A whole new world _ _   
_ _ A new fantastic point of view _ _   
_ _ No one to tell us no, or where to go _ _   
_ _ Or say we’re only dreaming _

_ A whole new world _ _   
_ _ A dazzling place I never knew _ _   
_ _ Now when I’m way up here, it’s crystal clear _ _   
_ _ And now I’m in a whole new world with you _

Then everyone broke into laughter.

“You guys are really good friends,” Amelia commented, “I can’t think of another explanation of why after today’s hectic rehearsal you can suddenly sing together in such harmony!”

“Damn right, it used to be just me and Grace, but when she met Bobo me and him hit it off.” Lenore replied playfully, but then her smile faded when she turned to talk to Bobo. “but do we have to go to Noodle Burger? We have been eating there for seven days in a row.”

“I know that, but today is the day they start selling a new product⸻ the buffalo noodle!”

Silence.

“What on earth is that?” Grace asked in a deadpan voice.

“A regular noodle burger,” Bobo answered, “but it’s deep-fried unbreaded chicken wings, shredded, and coated in a vinegar and butter based hot sauce. Oh… and did I mention there’s blue cheese in between the noodle buns as well?”

“Hot wings in a noodle burger? I’m in!” A smile appeared on Grace’s face, and she ran down the street the catch up with Bobo. Lenore looked at the girl running happily behind the sole man in their group, she smiled too.

“Well… Bobo seemed a little annoying.” Beca said, “He reminded me of a very annoying superhero my mom faced.”

“I heard that you have two mums.” Lenore asked, “Which one are you talking about?”

“The mom with spiked up, blonde hair and with purple bangs.”

“Hmmm, now I kind of have a clue. My mum and dad used to see that superhero as a problem too. What’s his name… Fredzilla?”

* * *

At Noodle Burger, the gang were sitting at the table where a picture of Bobo was engraved on the wall beside it. 

“Titanium member, that sure explains why are we coming here all the time.” Lenore commented.

“Right you are, miss!”

A cheery robotic voice rang behind them, and all of the gang turned to look at a robot with a noodle burger for a head.

“Grace, I believe you haven’t met Noodle Burger Boy yet.” Lenore began, “He worked for my dad months before I was born due to a chip placed in his chip slot. Now the chip is still in there, but now he comes here on a regular basis to work as the mascot.”

Lenore then looked at the robot, and grunted as she drew her finger across her neck. Noodle Burger Boy ignored her and continued predicting the gang’s orders.

“Five servings of buffalo noodle coming right up!” he announced, and then he waddled into the kitchen. However, he didn’t forget to make the same gesture at Lenore before he left.

“Same old Noodle,” Lenore laughed, “still able to predict every insult I make towards him-” she stopped, and started sniffing the air around her. She occasionally gaped her mouth wide open to taste the air.

“Oh no.” she gasped, “Mike’s here. Everyone duck!”

“Who’s Mike?”

Grace quickly regretted that she asked the question, because a voice boomed right beside her, announcing, “Mike McLaggen in the house!”

The guy who called himself Mike possessed a muscular body, with brown hair that was shaved on the sides of his head. He wore a mouldy black and white striped tee and brown trousers, and the red jacket with white sleeves and a green snail head is a tell tale sign of an SFAI student. He has a hairy chin, which somehow made him look more smug when being put together with his already smug facial expression.

and Mike’s personality fits perfectly with the face he made.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Beca Brisby and Amelia Granville, the current leaders of FITCapella.” he said. "Are the scientists out of their minds? Handing the pitch pipe to two freshmen."

"I'm 17, Mike. I joined SFIT last year-"

"And this is not the worst thing. Who's the former leader again? Elsa Forester? She's passing her leadership to a girl! Seriously, you have guys in the group, so why not just give them the responsibility to lead instead?"

"I am responsible for coming up with a new set list of songs that we finally performed at last year's ICCAs." Beca retorted, "She has seen my work, and then approved it."

"And it's ultimately ruined by a cat who walked onto the stage and puked in the finals." Mike said, looking at the direction of Lenore before getting out a spray bottle and sprayed water onto her face, making her hiss. Grace stood up from her seat, and then looked at Mike in the eye.

"Leave her alone," she hissed.

"Well… even if you didn't say I will leave you to be," Mike said. "You smell like curry and it's spoiling the noodle burger scent here."

Grace's nose wrinkled in distaste when Mike made that remark.

"Okay, Ascenders, let's go get our table," Mike said, leaving with a group of people with the same jackets. Before he left Bobo's table, he jeered, "Beca, your grandma is fat and her boobs look like baloney!"

"Baloney Barb… I hate that nickname." Beca whispered. 

The scientists hung their heads down, not saying a word. Grace finally started, saying, "That Mike is a jerk."

"Told ya," Amelia grumbled.

"That last bit of the oath totally makes sense," Bobo said, "Not to let them soil my comics with their finger dirt or may my vocal cords be ripped out by wolves."

"Bobo, it actually says not to hook up with them." Amelia corrected him.

"No hooking up with a SFAscender. Got it." 

The Buffalo noodles were really good, but after that encounter with Mike Grace had lost her appetite. So she ended up taking the burger away back home to reheat it later.

* * *

"So, Grace? Have you joined any new activities?"

Grace didn’t even bother to look at Karmi in the face. "I joined FITCapella yesterday," she said. "And now I understand why that rule of no hooking up with anyone from SFAI is a thing."

“Really? Why?”

Grace then looked up at her mother, her eyes beginning to water. 

“When we got to Noodle Burger we met Mike, the leader of SFAscension. He made fun of Beca and Ame… saying they’re not fit to have the pitch pipe because they’re girls. And then he said a cat puked during last year’s ICCA finals, and I don’t get what he meant by the cat...” she then stopped, buried her face in her hands.

Karmi's gentle expression was took over by shock. “Honey? Honey! Are you ok?”

A sob escaped Grace’s lips, and then she embraced Karmi. 

“He then said I smell like curry!” she wailed. "Why would he say that? Why?"

Karmi winced at her daughter's statement and hugged her back. Grace continued sobbing. That wouldn't be the last she saw of Mike, that year's ICCAs is going to be a tough one.


End file.
